1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of food preparation and more particularly to a device for rapidly cooling liquid based food such as soups, stews and chowders.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
When cooking large quantities of liquid based food such as soups, stews and chowders, it is important to handle the food properly to prevent it from spoiling. In particular, it is necessary to cool the just-cooked soup rapidly before placing it into a refrigeration unit, such as a cooler or a freezer. If the soup is not properly cooled before it is placed into refrigeration, bacteria may develop in the food. In order to prevent this, government regulations require that soups and the like be cooled from approximately 180.degree. to approximately 40.degree. in no more than six hours. When dealing with small quantities of soup, cooling within the government regulations is usually readily achieved. However, restaurants and food supply outfits often cook large quantities of soup, up to about 50 quarts in a single stock pot, which makes cooling according to the government regulations difficult. In order to cool soups in compliance with the government regulations, the food preparation industry has developed several methods to cool large quantities of soups.
One method involves using a paddle or glove which is filled with water and frozen. The soup is stirred with the paddle or glove until it is cooled to the proper temperature. However, this method is extremely labor-intensive, requiring a person to continuously stir the soup for several hours. Another method involves pouring the soup into a number of shallow containers which are then placed into refrigeration. This method requires large amounts of space and is not a reliable method for effectively cooling the soup. A third method involves placing the entire stock pot into an ice bath to cool the soup. Again, this method can take up large amounts of space in the kitchen, and is not consistently effective. Yet another method involves cooking the soup with less than the required amount of liquid, and then adding the remaining liquid at the end of the cooking time in the form of ice to cool the soup. This method is not very time-efficient and also can adversely affect the flavor and consistency of the soup.
What is needed therefor, is an apparatus and method for cooling soups and the like which is convenient, space-efficient, requires minimum labor, and which consistently and effectively cools the soup.